Mirror Mirror

That night Harry found it impossible to go to sleep. So many questions were buzzing around in his head. He had honestly thought that they were just going to accept their fate. They were stuck in the past and there was nothing they could do about it, and they would spend the next few years fighting Taylor and preventing as many changes to the timeline as possible. But if Dumbledore was aware of what was going on, that could potentially be a game changer. Maybe there was a third option to consider. Maybe the choice wasn't just between giving Taylor what he wanted and accepting the new life and heavy responsibility that Taylor had thrust upon them. What if they really could find a way to get back to their own time without Taylor's help? After all, that's what they had been trying to do in the first place.

Suddenly, Harry sat up in bed. He'd been so preoccupied with the events from the morning that he had forgotten that his Christmas adventure was not over yet. Ron was fast asleep, but Harry didn't need to wake him. This was a solo mission.

As quietly as he could, Harry slipped on the invisibility cloak and snuck out of his dorm, out the entryway guarded by the Fat Lady, and out into the corridor. It was a lot more peaceful than the last time he had been wandering about the castle at night. But there were a lot fewer people in the castle than normal, and he had his father's invisibility cloak to conceal him. So there was no need to be loud and destructive.

Harry made his way to the library, heading straight for the restricted section. Last time he had been there to try and find a book about Nicolas Flamel. This time he was just going through the motions so that he wouldn't change the past and ruin the future. If he, Ron, and Hermione didn't find a way to put things back to normal, they were going to be doing this a lot over the next few years.

With his seemingly-floating lantern leading the way, Harry scanned the shelves to find a familiar book. Finally, he located the one he was looking for. He set his lantern down on the floor and pulled the large, black and silver volume off of its shelf. Then, after taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Harry winced, held the book as far away from himself as his 11-year-old arms could manage, and opened it.

Even though he knew it was coming, the scream still made Harry jump. He quickly closed the book and shoved it back on the shelf, which did little to stifle the sound. And then, because he knew he had to, he kicked over the lantern, causing it to break and the light to go out.

When Harry heard Filch's footsteps, he knew that was his cue. Gripping the cloak tightly around him, he made a run for it and didn't stop until he was out of the library and had found a familiar suit of armor. He paused for a minute or so, waited until he heard Filch tell Snape that someone had snuck into the restricted section, and then ducked inside an unused classroom through a door that had been left ajar. In hindsight, it seemed strange to Harry that Dumbledore had not only neglected to lock this particular door, but had also left it open. Maybe he had wanted Harry to find it.

Harry turned around and there it was. He hadn't seen the Mirror of Erised since his first year at Hogwarts, and truthfully was unsure of what had become of it after it had served as the hiding place for the Sorcerer's Stone. Dumbledore's warning rang in his head as he laid eyes on it for the first time in years. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. But one little peak couldn't hurt, right? Especially because he had looked the first time, and Harry didn't want to mess up the timeline.

His parents were still there, as he knew they would be. But Harry himself was older. He no longer saw the reflection of the young boy he saw every time he had looked in a mirror recently, but rather the 16-year-old boy he felt he was inside. And Harry and his parents were not alone. Sirius had joined the picture, and they were all one big happy family. Harry longed to be with them, to be the teenage boy in the mirror. Why was it that instead of seeing things he might someday gain, this mirror only seemed to show him things that he once had but has now lost? It didn't same fair. But Harry's life rarely was.

"Where were you last night, mate?" Ron asked the next morning. "I woke up and you were gone."

"Mirror," Harry replied simply. He had stayed out longer than he'd meant to, but it was just too hard to peel his eyes away from everything he'd lost. Especially considering how difficult his life had become since losing them.

"Blimey Harry, I'd forgot all about that. You saw your parents?"

Harry nodded. "And Sirius."

"That mirror is bad news, mate. We should stay away, yeah? We'll go mental."

"We have to go back tonight."

"Harry…"

"Ron, we have to. Dumbledore was watching us that night, he saw us."

Ron sighed. He knew Harry was right, but he had a terrible feeling about that mirror. He always had. "Fine, but I'm not letting you stay long."

That night, Harry and Ron hid together under the cloak. It had been a long time since they had been able to properly fit under it together. Back in their own time they always had to crouch down to make sure their feet were covered.

When they arrived in the unused classroom, Harry and Ron began to recite their lines almost as if they were in a school play. If Dumbledore was indeed watching, but didn't actually know anything about their predicament, it was important that he overhear a conversation similar to the one he heard last time.

"Come look at my parents, Ron," Harry said as he ran for the mirror. "Look. They're here." He began to get lost in his mother's eyes, his father's smile, his godfather's wink.

"What do you mean, Harry? I can only see you," Ron said with an extremely puzzled look on his face.

Harry shook his head to bring himself back into the moment. Maybe Ron was right about the mirror being dangerous. "Maybe you just have to look into it properly. Come stand here."

Harry and Ron traded places, and Ron was able to look into the Mirror of Erised for the first time since he was 11. He blushed, and seemed to momentarily forget his next line.

"See? It's my parents in the mirror," Harry prompted.

Ron snapped himself out of it and continued to play along. "No, sorry, mate. I don't see your parents."

Harry tried to look surprised. "No? Then you must see your own family in the mirror."

"No, they aren't here. I just see myself. I'm older, and I'm the Head Boy and Quidditch Captain all at once. And it looks like Gryffindor won both he House Cup and the Quidditch Cup. This mirror must show the future!"

"No, that can't be it. My parents are both dead."

A sudden noise out in the corridor told them both it was time to go. Harry hoped Dumbledore had enjoyed their little skit, if he had been watching.

Ron pulled the cloak over the two of them just in time as Mrs. Norris wandered into the room, looked straight at them, and then left. Harry still swore that cats must be able to see through invisibility cloaks.

"Can I ask you something?" Harry whispered as they quietly made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. "What did you really see in the mirror? Has it changed?"

Ron chuckled. "Becoming Head Boy is a little low on the priority list when you've been forced back in time by some faceless psycho called Taylor. You know, mate, I just saw… us making it back to our own time, that's all. And we'll get there, even if we have to take the long way around."

"Yeah," Harry replied. It seemed like a logical enough answer; even he had seen himself back in his true body. But something told him that his friend wasn't being entirely truthful. He wouldn't have been blushing like that otherwise.

It was night three of the mirror saga, and once again Harry was setting out alone. But he wouldn't be alone for long, of course. This was the night that Dumbledore had been waiting for him, and had explained to him what the mirror was. And had warned him of its dangers, just as Ron had been trying to do all day.

Harry was looking forward to seeing Dumbledore because he hoped he would get some answers to his burning questions. He had promised Ron that he wouldn't be the one to bring up the subject just in case Dumbledore was still clueless about their situation. And it did cross Harry's mind that, if Dumbledore was aware of what was happening, the headmaster might not even show up at all. After all, that would change Dumbledore's personal timeline which might mean that he decided to go somewhere else that night. But when Harry made it back to the unused classroom, he did indeed find Dumbledore there waiting for him.

The headmaster was sitting on one of the desks and watching the door. Harry pulled off the cloak and Dumbledore didn't even flinch at his sudden appearance. It seemed as though the old man was expecting him, which could mean anything really.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said, trying to sound surprised to find the headmaster there. "I was just…"

"I thought I might find you here tonight, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Am I correct in thinking that you expected me as well?"

"So, you do know what's going on, then?"

"You don't miss much when you're as old as I am, Harry. I've seen a lot of students come through these corridors. Some extraordinarily talented from day one, some may need a little extra help to reach their full potential. But never in all my years of teaching have I known a first year student who was capable of stunning a fully-grown mountain troll."

Harry grinned at that. "Professor McGonagall told you about that. And you believed us."

"She said she checked your wand and everything. She has no idea how you could have managed it. But I know that the only possible explanation is that you, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger are older than you appear. How old are you three, anyway?"

"Ron and I are 16, Hermione's 17." Harry replied. It felt good to say that out loud to someone, though he was a little disappointed that Dumbledore didn't already know. It seemed as though the headmaster wasn't entirely in the loop about their situation. Still, he knew a little, and that was enough to gain them a new ally. An old, incredibly wise and powerful ally.

"Ahh sixth years, then. Right in the thick of your magical training and then suddenly you're sent back to the beginning. I'm sorry for everything you've been going through, Harry, I truly am. I don't know what sort of magic could have done this, but I'm going to help you in any way that I can. I only ask that you give me information only on a need-to-know basis. Terrible things happen to wizards who meddle with time, Harry."

"We will, Professor, thank you." It was a bit discouraging that even Dumbledore didn't understand what was happening. That probably meant that their solution couldn't be found at the library. Still, having Dumbledore as an available resource could only be a good thing, right?

"Very well, Harry. You'd probably better go back to bed now."

"Goodnight, Professor."

"Oh, and Harry? I'm moving the mirror tonight. Though that was a nice show you and Mr. Weasley put on for me yesterday evening."